QB Kenny Gray ’20 looks to breakout after a solid 2017 campaign.
Is This the Year?: Hamilton Football Preview 2018
2017 Record: 3-6
Projected Record: 4-5
Projected Offensive Starters (*7 returning)
QB – Kenny Gray ’20*
RB – Mitch Bierman ’21
WR – Christian Donahoe ’20
WR – Joe Schmidt ’20*
TE – Trevor Pinkham ’19*
LT – Sam Palomaki ’20*
LG – Stephen Kelley ’19*
C – Micah Balogh ’19*
RG – AJ Rattee ’21
RT – AJ Cantarella ’20*
Projected Defensive Starters (*8 returning)
DB – Colby Jones ’19*
DB – Bryce Phillips ’20
DB – Justin Leigh ’20*
LB – Tyler Hudson ’19*
LB – Cole Burchill ’19*
LB – Tim Russell ’21
LB – Sean Tolton ’19*
DL – Alex Ganter ’20*
DL – Michael Friedman ’19*
DL – Jeff Martinez ’20
DL – Will Rothschild ’19*
Projected Specialists (*3 returning)
K – Joe Suski ’21
P – Billy Wagner ’20*
KR/PR – Joe Schmidt ‘20*/Sam Robinson ’20*
Offensive MVP: Wide Receiver Joe Schmidt ’20
(Courtesy of Hamilton Athletics)
The 2017 First Team All-NESCAC selection is back for more. This kid is an absolute stud receiver, finishing his second season 3rdin the NESCAC in receptions (55), 2ndin receiving yards (811), and tied for the league lead in touchdowns with 10. He also is capable of having a huge game, as he showed in Week 1 last year against Tufts, when he caught 8 passes for 214 yards and 4 touchdowns. 4 touchdowns! Now that Wesleyan’s Mike Breuler ’18 is out of the picture, Schmidt officially becomes the conference’s top receiver. With budding star Kenny Gray throwing to him, he’s in a fantastic position to duplicate (or even top) his outstanding 2017 performance. Schmidt is an absolute nightmare for opposing secondaries.
Defensive MVP: Linebacker Tyler Hudson ’19
(Courtesy of Hamilton Athletics)
Hamilton boasts one of the best linebacker groups in the NESCAC, and Hudson is right at the front of that group. He has earned First Team All-NESCAC accolades in each of the past two seasons, leading the league in solo tackles (2ndin total tackles) last year. The converted defensive end is one of the best true athletes you’ll find at this level and at times it feels like you can’t run a play without him getting involved. I’d like to see his sack numbers improve a bit, but there really isn’t much this guy can’t do. The Continental defensive unit is a force to be reckoned with and Tyler Hudson is the face of that unit.
Biggest Game: September 15thvs. Tufts
While it might be just the first game of the season, it’s a big one. The last two meetings between these two teams have ended in overtime victories for the Jumbos. Hamilton has been just one possession away from victory each time but has come up empty as Tufts has proven that they can win these close games. With the amount of returning stars in Hamilton’s lineup, I think this could be the year that the Continentals make a leap into the upper echelon of the conference. It all starts Week 1 when the Jumbos roll into town and this Continental team comes to play with a chip on their shoulder.
As a non-football player I have to say that catching a punt doesn’t look particularly difficult. However, it clearly is, evidenced by how many muffed punts there are by people whose job it is to catch punts. I know how good it feels to get out of conditioning at the end of practice, so this definitely hits home a bit. This right here is what a team looks like, so let’s see if they bring this type of intensity every Saturday this year.
Everything Else:
Hamilton always seems to find themself in a weird place. They’ve been pretty consistently better than the CBB schools but worse than everyone else in recent years. There wasn’t a whole lot of turnover in their starting lineup on both sides of the ball, and they’ve got some true stars in their lineup who are ready to lead. Kenny Gray ’20 continues to get better and I think he has a chance to be in the same conversation as elite NESCAC quarterbacks such as Mark Picirillo from Wesleyan and Ryan MacDonald from Tufts. A difference maker in this lineup is going to be running back Mitch Bierman ’21 who split carries in the backfield during his rookie season. He proved to be a monstrous red zone threat, as he still finished 6thin the conference with 6 touchdowns. If he can adjust to a larger workload, this will provide a much-needed rushing attack to complement the powerful arm of Kenny Gray.
Mitch Bierman ’21 is going to be the x-factor for this offense.
Their defense has players who have proven that they belong among the NESCAC’s best, but they haven’t quite been able to put it together as an entire unit. Guys like Cole Burchill ’19, Colby Jones ’19, and Alex Ganter ’20 are going to have to step up more than they have in the past, as they now have several years of experience under their belts. There isn’t really a whole lot to say about the Continentals other than they need to be better against the leagues tougher opponents. Wins over Bates, Bowdoin, and Colby have become commonplace for them at this point, so their season will be defined by how they fare against teams like Middlebury and Tufts, against whom they have come up just short over the past few years. Kenny Gray and co. have a chance to make some noise, so we’ll see if they’re ready to finally change the way things have gone recently.
KR/PR – Owen Gideon-Murphy ’21*/Matthew Williams ’20*
Offensive MVP: Wide Receiver Greg Olson ’21
(Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)
No not Greg Olsen, All-Pro tight end for the Carolina Panthers. I’m talking about Greg Olson, future All-NESCAC wide receiver for the Bowdoin Polar Bears. Olson was stuck behind a couple of senior wide receivers last year, but still managed to have an impact when he saw some action, mustering 17 receptions for 179 yards and 2 touchdowns. This is his year to break out, as he’ll be the team’s go-to option out wide. At 6’3”, 210lbs, Olson has the physical tools to be an elite NESCAC receiver, and he’ll benefit greatly from a year of collegiate experience under his belt as well as the loss of the only two guys ahead of him from last season. Expect Greg Olson to have a big year, as he’ll try to do his best Greg Olsen impression and help Bowdoin turn the ship around this season.
Defensive MVP: Linebacker Liam Dougherty ’21
(Courtesy of Bowdoin Athletics)
Dougherty stepped on campus in Brunswick last fall and immediately made an impact. As a freshman, he led the team with 53 tackles and played significant minutes in all 9 games. Now that he’s had a taste of what NESCAC football is like, he’s poised to have a huge sophomore season. Given his size at 6’, 210lbs, it will be important for Dougherty to be able to defend smaller, quicker guys when he drops back into coverage. If Bowdoin continues to employ their aggressive defensive approach, I’d look for Dougherty to see an increase in his sack numbers. Now that he’s found a role in this Polar Bear defense, Dougherty will only continue to get better and will be one of the scariest threats in the league for opposing offenses.
Biggest Game: November 10th @ Colby
Bowdoin is currently riding the longest active losing streak in the NESCAC, having lost 17 in a row. Their last win was the final game of the 2015 season against none other than the Colby Mules. Not only is this game part of the CBB rivalry, but if the Polar Bears can’t get their act together, they could go into this game riding a 25 game losing streak. They haven’t come within 10 points of the Mules since the last time they beat them, so the revenge factor will be strong in this one.
I love this tweet for a few different reasons. Coach McAllister clearly wants to show off that he knows how to use GIFs, but I’m not really sure how this one is relevant to the tweet itself. I’m also interested in where he came up with the hashtag because it’s got a good ring to it, but I did some research and didn’t see that particular hashtag used anywhere by any of Bowdoin’s other football coaches or their official team Twitter. I’ll let it slide because I like the sound of it, but he couldn’t have at least used the right “too?” Hopefully the incoming freshman class is as excited as Coach McAllister because throwing grammar to the wind is very un-NESCAC. Power move.
Everything Else:
The Polar Bears have had a rough couple of years, but there are a few reasons to feel better about this upcoming year. First of all, they return a ton of guys who got solid time last season. The majority of players who start and get significant time are underclassmen, so they will only continue to develop and improve. They also welcome impact freshman Tomasi Fakatoumafi ’22 from the Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii who will join the team as a defensive end. Fakatoumafi has a college-ready body and will certainly see significant game action right out of the gate. He’ll be a valuable addition to a defensive line that has really struggled as of late, allowing over 60 more rushing yards per game than any other defense in the conference.
Another cause for excitement is the starting quarterback battle that is currently taking place. Noah Nelson ’19 and Griff Stalcup ’21 split time under center last season, partly as a result of injuries to each of them. This year it’ll be a battle between them as neither one played well enough in their opportunities last season to officially win the starting spot. The water got muddied even more when the Polar Bears landed transfer Austin McCrum ’20 from Division I Lafayette College. None of these guys have a clear advantage over the others, so it’ll be a true three-horse race for the starting job.
The addition of Austin McCrum gives Bowdoin quarterback depth that they haven’t had in recent years (Courtesy of Maine Journal Tribune)
Bowdoin isn’t undergoing any major personnel or scheme changes, but they have struggled in recent years playing with very young lineups. Coach Wells encourages his team to stay the course and trust the system they have in place. They’ll continue to develop the youth that they have and hopefully with a bit more experience under their belt, they’ll be able to start seeing the success that they haven’t seen over the last few seasons.
Costa is going to be the biggest make-or-break player for the Bobcats this season. He finished his freshman season as the NESCAC’s 2nd leading rusher, trailing only 3-time All NESCAC honoree Max Chipouras of Trinity. He can definitely run, but with Bates switching to the “Air Raid” offense this season we’ll find out if he can throw. In 2017 he threw for the fewest yards per game of any starter – although they ran the triple option, which certainly does not lend itself to throwing the ball. However, he also completed only 47.8% of his passes, last among starters in the conference. We know that Costa can do damage with his legs, but he’ll have to prove that he can use his arm if the Bobcats want to snatch a few more wins this season.
Defensive MVP: Safety Jon Lindgren ’20
(Courtesy of Bates Athletics)
This kid was the biggest 2017 All-NESCAC snub and I’ll tell you why: he compiled 75 tackles last season, good for 7th in the conference. I know, it’s not good when your safety is leading the team in tackles. But 75? That’s legit. Now you’re probably thinking, “Oh, well if he had that many tackles then he must not be very good in coverage right?” Wrong. Lindgren led the NESCAC with 12 pass break ups. I will admit that he didn’t have any interceptions but come on, how are you going to hold it against him that he has bad hands? He’s playing safety for a reason. Anyways, the point is that Lindgren is a stud with outstanding defensive instincts and a knack for finding the play. He’s ready to lead a defense that returns the majority of its starters and will have to do more than they have in recent years to keep the Bobcats in games. Stay tuned to see if he learned how to catch over the summer.
Biggest Game: November 10th vs. Hamilton
Normally I’d pick one of the CBB games as the biggest game of the year, but the Bobcats have had no trouble in recent years securing that trophy. The biggest struggle as of late has been the season’s final game against the Continentals. Hamilton has been stuck between the top tier of the conference and the three Maine schools, always able to snag that last win against Bates to stay one spot ahead in the standings. This year the Bobcat offense will need to step it up, as they have only been able to score 21 points against the Hamilton defense in the past 3 years combined. That’s not good. Circle this one on your calendar, folks.
If you don’t follow Coach Capone on Twitter, I highly recommend it. He has absolutely mastered how to use this app and is taking full advantage of that fact. If there was ever a football team who definitely feels the JUICE, it’s the Bates College Bobcats. This tweet gets me FIRED UP for a (mostly) new coaching staff, a new offense, and a new season. Stay hot, Coach Capone.
Everything Else:
Out with the old, in with the new. Bates welcomes Malik Hall as the 20th head coach in program history. With him he brings new offensive coordinator Custavious Patterson and a new-look offense that probably shouldn’t be new-look because it’s what literally everyone else does, but is still very exciting for Bobcat fans. This will surely make games light-years more fun to watch, and will hopefully start putting up big numbers on the scoreboard. Brendan Costa ’21 is in position to have a huge season, as he’ll work to get on the same page as his wide receiving corps. They’ll return running back Jaason Lopez ’21 who played well in somewhat limited time last season, also catching a number of passes out of the slot. Freshman Derek Marino (younger brother of senior offensive lineman Dan Marino) has a chance to make a big impact at wide receiver in his rookie season. The defense returns top defensive backs Jon Lindgren ’20, Coy Candelario ’19, and Joe Frake ’19 who saw a ton of action last season. Chase Fulton ’19, Bobby Dee ’19, Pete Daley ’19, and Connor Suraci ’20 will anchor a solid group of linebackers who also have a lot of experience.
Coach Hall comes from the University of Pennsylvania where he served as the team’s defensive line coach (Courtesy of Bates Athletics)
If the Bates offense can have a better year (and it looks as though they can), then the defense will get some valuable rest and will likely see some improvement given how many of their starters are returning. The coaching change has brought some very positive energy to the boys from Lewiston who really needed it. The Bobcats led Wesleyan at halftime last season, and have played Hamilton and Tufts close in recent years. They’re in striking distance of teams just ahead of them and it looks things seem to be going well (if Coach Capone’s reports are true). This could be the year that they finally make a leap and steal a few more wins.
After it was all said and done, Amherst showed everyone why you can’t count them out. Facing elimination against Middlebury, Amherst won some close ballgames to survive and advance, combining clutch pitching and hitting all the way to a NESCAC title. As the Harry Roberson and Max Steinhorn era comes to a close at Amherst, it was nice from a personal perspective that these guys won it all. With those guys leaving, however, it is tough to think that Amherst will be in the same position next year. While coaches Brian Hamm and John Casey will never put out a losing team onto the field, a product of superior coaching, recruiting, and pedigree, they have a tough task to replace their best hitters. Casey arguably has a harder task, needing to replace the meat of his lineup, but will likely have some hot shot recruits coming in to fill that void. As these guys graduate and move on to the real world, teams filled with underclassmen will start to rise. Middlebury, and Wesleyan of the west division were filled with strong underclassmen, while Trinity looks to be the most promising out of the East.
1). Wesleyan:
With sometimes inconsistent hitting, Wesleyan’s NESCAC success will rely on the control and success of their pitching staff.
Wesleyan had to play a perfect game against Tufts to stay alive in the tournament and they revealed some weaknesses in their pitching staff as a result. Despite some stellar offensive numbers (.298 team AVG), the Cards struggled against quality pitching down the stretch. At times they looked overmatched in the NESCAC tournament, seeing their true advantage of starting pitching fail to execute when it counted. Mike McCaffrey and Kelvin Sosa, two of the most talented pitchers in the league, went 5.1 innings, allowing 11 runs and 13 BBs in the NESCAC tournament, leading to an early exit. They have the offensive depth and starting pitching to go a long way, but they need to compete better in big games and show that their bullpen can keep the score close if their starters don’t got deep into outings. The Cards are young, though and just might have the talent to go all the way. Alex Capitelli, Danny Rose, Kelvin Sosa, and Mike McCaffrey are just a few of the names the Cardinals are returning.
2). Middlebury:
Colin Waters is a wild card for 2019, putting up solid numbers as a sophomore and coming on only at the end of this year. Not playing football could turn him into one of NESCAC’s best arms.
Middlebury came close to making the playoffs, but a weak start to the season made any road to the postseason a long shot if not impossible. Getting swept by Wesleyan in one of the early serieses gave Midd absolutely no momentum and a 2-4 record at the halfway point. The squad stopped underachieving around three-quarters into the year, but by then, it was too late. They were hampered all year by injuries too as highly touted recruit Michael Farinelli and starting pitcher Spencer Shores both went down with Tommy John surgery after the preseason. Shores, a hard throwing righty with jerky mechanics and a wipeout slider, saw tons of success at the beginning of 2017 and if he can get healthy, the Panthers should have a formidable pitching staff. Anchoring that pitching staff is Colby Morris, one of the NESCAC’s top arms and Colin Waters who really came on at the end of the year, dominating Union in a 5-3 victory and shutting down Amherst in relief. 1B Kevin Woodring (1st Team All-NESCAC Nose Tackle for the football team) went down with a knee injury against Williams and did not return the rest of the way, and has the potential to lead the league in HR. They also have the NESCAC defensive POY, Brooks Carroll at SS, First-Team All-NESCAC 2B Justin Han, and a breakout hitter in Hayden Smith. The ceiling is high for this team, but as always the question will be: Will they put it all together?
3). Trinity:
Trinity has solid starting pitching and their offensive is anchored by the powerful Koperniak.
Trinity must be kicking themselves after such a heartbreaking change of events at the end of the regular season. The Bantams started off the season so strong, winning the series against Tufts and Bowdoin and sweeping Colby, setting themselves up for an early playoff clinch with a 7-2 record. With Tufts underachieving, Bates not hitting, and the rest of the east not playing well all together, it seemed like a playoff spot for Trin was locked up. Losing three tight games in a row to Bates, however, killed the Bantams season. The potential returns, though: no weekend starter for Trin was a senior, so they’ll be back. Alex Shafer dominated all year and is in the conversation for pitcher of the year, Erik Mohl had a down year but could return to his All-NESCAC form. C Alex Rodriguez needs to step up though, seeing his stellar freshman numbers collapse in his sophomore campaign. Hopefully a second stint in the NECBL will help him find that talent once again. Matt Koperniak broke out and garnered both All-NESCAC and All-Region honors and will be their on field leader in 2019. With their new field, good coaching, and likely some talented recruits coming in, the Bantams will be an exciting team to watch come next spring.
4). Tufts:
Tufts didn’t surprise anybody by winning the East division regular season title, proving our preseason rankings correct. Although they made it to the tournament, they lacked pitching dominance like they have enjoyed in their previous eras, seeing their #2 and #3 starters combine for a paltry 4.05 K/9. Despite sub-3.00 ERAs from both of these players, Brent Greeley and Spencer Langdon, their strikeout numbers reveal that they can’t generate swings and misses and rely on good defense and a bad BABIP (batting average on balls in play) from opponents. Well, it might not get much better, as their corner infielders Tommy O’Hara and Nick Falkson graduated. Their seniors represented a 4x First Team All-NESCAC honoree in 3B Tommy O’Hara, the 2018 NESCAC POY Malcolm Nachmanoff, and the 2017 NESCAC POY Nick Falkson which is tough for even the legendary coach John Casey to replace. RJ Hall will lead the staff to a number of wins, but they might not have the offense to dominate like they usually do. One thing to count on is that they will lead the league in hit by pitches by about 50.
5). Williams:
Williams had a tough season without their ace Johnny Lamont. He’s an elite pitcher, although even he wouldn’t have been able to solve all of the Ephs’ pitching problems. Williams simply lacked ‘stuff’ on the mound this year and their offense wasn’t deep enough to make up for it. Kyle Dean will likely move back to the bullpen next year where he saw success as a freshman, and Lamont should help balance out the staff. Jack Bohen will need to be more consistent for his team to have a chance to win NESCAC weekend games. Kellen Hatheway and Jack Roberts had talent sure enough, but got off to slow starts and never got back to the All-NESCAC level that they were at in the past. Hatheway will surely figure it out (unless he gets an internship this summer) and is still an elite DIII defender, with arguably the most range in the conference. Losing is never fun, and the Ephs’ playoff drought is getting longer and longer, so they will assuredly come back next year with a new sense of energy especially with their ace returning.
6). Amherst:
Nick Nardone is one of the lone powerful bats remaining in Amherst’s lineup.
What a run it was for the Amherst Mammoths. They won 5 straight to head to the New York Regional, and while they exited after a quick 0-2 performance, they lost both games by one run, competing and showing that they deserved to be there. Ultimately their offensive depth was an issue as Max Steinhorn, Ariel Kenney, and Harry Roberson were far more dangerous than their other hitters, but they had the best all around team in the conference. Their pitching, both starting and relief, performed when they needed it to, and some unlikely offensive heroes stepped up in big spots. Bolstering the lineup in 2019 will be first year standout Joseph Palmo, whose wide batting stance is surprisingly balance and consistent, offering a contact heavy and line drive approach. He, along with Severino Simeone and Nick Nardone, should lead the Mammoth team who desperately needs to retool after losing some of their program’s all time best players. Andrew Ferrero finally pitched up to his potential too, and with Zach and Davis Brown, they could easily keep most of their NESCAC opponents at bay to compete for another title.
7). Bates:
Bates, underwhelming in most statistical categories, somehow got into the playoffs again. I don’t know what’s in the water up in Lewiston, but once you make the playoffs, nobody could care less about your stats. What it came down to was doing what Middlebury couldn’t–winning with their season on the line and coming from behind to take tight ballgames. A .237 team average is one of the worst in the ‘Cac, but the Bobcats beat out other teams with better team averages to see their season continue. What was especially huge was how they saw a future ace emerge as Nolan Collins threw the ball extremely well in tight spots. The sophomore posted a 2.75 ERA, and was the go to pitcher for Bobcats in must win games, knocking off Tufts in their final series to clinch a trip to Hartford. No hitter posted above a .267 average with most hitters barely hitting their weight though and that is a recurring issue. It will be tough for the Bobcats to get in again with that hitting, but Zach Avila was a breakout player who could see continued success in the NESCAC along with second year starting catcher and All-NESCAC honoree Jack Arend. I counted them out before, so it’s hard to predict what they’ll do next year. All I have to say is it ain’t over until all 12 games are played.
8). Bowdoin:
Bowdoin either needs to have a stellar recruiting class coming in or Lopez needs to be the ace that the Polar Bears were missing in 2018.
The Bowdoin Polar Bears’ end of year record was solid at 7-5, but they lost out on a playoff bid in tiebreaking fashion to Bates. I’m sure that they want to get revenge on Bates for making the playoffs two years in a row, seeing their season end exceptionally early. Like in the west, Bowdoin has a lot of young guys in All-NESCAC honoree Eric Mah and Connor Lee who led the team in hitting. Those two will put up another good year at the plate in 2019, as the team will be bolstered by all around athlete Brandon Lopez. Lopez started off the season terribly and looked as if his velocity dropped from previous years, but turned it around back to back gems against Colby (not a huge confidence booster) and Southern Maine. The game against Southern Maine really gives the Polar Bears some momentum moving forward as the ranked Huskies dominated all the other NESCAC teams they played (Bates, Colby, Amherst). Brett Osterholtz and Colby Lewis will need to step up to make the starting staff more formidable, but if they do, look for Bowdoin to compete for a playoff bid again next year.
9). Hamilton:
Hamilton Baseball’s 2021 class showed a lot of potential, leading to an exciting offseason for the young program.
Hamilton, as usual, is competitive at times with the league’s best but also finds a way to come up short. The West division is no cake walk with perennial winners Wesleyan and Amherst, but Hamilton showed to both teams that they should be respected. They won the series against Wesleyan and took one game from Amherst after losing the first two in heartbreaking fashion. The team is young, and didn’t return too many starters, putting out a product much better than most expected. Matt Zaffino raked all year, garnering the NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors—ending the season with a .359 average. If they can figure it out in close games, Hamilton could potentially make the playoffs next year. They need to keep games close to give the ball to their lights out closer Ian Nish, and have to improve on their defense and offensive execution.
10). Colby
Colby had a tough year and there’s no way around that with a 1-11 NESCAC season. It doesn’t look like it’ll get much better next year either. The Mules’ best hitter and my former classmate Matt Treveloni is graduating (congrats, Trev), and the east is far more variable than the West. Tufts is always a good team, however they didn’t dominate like they have in the past few years and aren’t likely to improve without their three best hitters. The other teams in the East–Bates, Bowdoin, and Trinity are likely to improve though, and the Mules will have a tough task ahead of them without any cake-walk serieses. If pitchers throw strikes for the Mules next year (and they find a new starting pitching staff or it Taimu Ito returns to this 2017 form), they could be 4-8 in conference, but to be better, they’ll need to find some more offense.
It was a great year. Teams that seem to always get the job done, Amherst and Tufts, made it to the finals and two great coached teams playing each other is every baseball fan’s dream. In the end, Amherst proved to everyone why the game always requires twenty-seven outs, cranking out stellar performances in must win games like it was easy. The highlight of the regular season was the way that the East division came down to a three team tiebreaker, showing that no matter how many games are played, everything still seems to come down to the wire. Thank you to all the players and coaches that make the season so enjoyable! See you next spring.
Auburn Regional (New York Region) – Hosted by #9 Cortland
After earning the NESCAC automatic NCAA tournament bid, preventing Tufts from collecting their third straight conference title, the Amherst Mammoths will venture down to Falcon Park in Auburn, New York. Falcon Park is the home of #9 SUNY Cortland and the site for this year’s DIII baseball New York regional. Other notable teams include #10 Salisbury, out of Maryland, and #24 Southern Maine. NCAA regionals are a double-elimination tournament, much like the NESCAC playoffs. The winner of the regional will represent the New York Region at the 2018 DIII World Series in Appleton, Wisconsin.
First Opponent – #24 Southern Maine
Southern Maine finished 3rd in the Little East Conference this season, behind Eastern Connecticut and #3 UMass – Boston. Southern Maine finished 4-1 against NESCAC opponents this season, beating Bates and Colby in mid-week games and splitting games against Bowdoin. The USM Huskies are lead offensively by Devin Warren ‘19, who is hitting .401 with 31 RBI, and Dylan Hapworth ‘20, who has a .338 AVG and 8 home runs. Jake Dexter ‘19, whose father Tom is a baseball and football coach at Colby College, has been doing absolutely everything for the Huskies this season. At the plate he is hitting .387 with 28 RBI and on the mound he is USM’s #1 arm out of the ‘pen, maintaining a 1.67 ERA and 11.13 K/9. Amherst will most likely face Gage Feeney ‘20 who is 6-1 on the season with a 3.18 ERA. Southern Maine is no stranger to good competition as they have the 21st best strength of schedule in the nation, compared to Amherst’s 164th, per herosports.com.
Amherst is headed to a loaded regional.
Amherst will likely send out Sam Schneider ‘18 to face the Huskies as he has been their ace all year long. Schneider has started to stand out down the stretch in this playoff run, throwing 7 ⅔ strong innings against Bates in game 1 of the NESCAC playoffs and will have had 6 days of rest between that appearance and their contest versus USM. Amherst’s and USM’s staffs match up very evenly on paper. Amherst has a team ERA of 3.58 while USM’s team ERA is 3.82. They both have solid starters that should keep them in the game for 6+ innings and bullpens who have consistently kept the leads that their starters have given them this season. Offensively, Southern Maine has the clear advantage over Amherst. While both clubs have team averages in the low .300s, USM has been getting it done in style. The Huskies have belted 29 home runs as a team this season, compared to Amherst’s 11. The Mammoths will need to keep USM inside the ballpark in order for them to move past game 1 of the regional unscathed.
Game 2
If Amherst manages to take down USM, they will face the winner of #10 Salisbury vs. St. Joseph’s (L.I.). If Amherst loses to USM, they will face the loser of #10 Salisbury vs. St. Joseph’s (L.I.).
Salisbury enters the tournament after receiving an automatic bid as champions of the Capital Athletic Conference. The Salisbury Seagulls are on a 8-game winning streak, which is tied for the 5th longest active winning streak in D3 baseball and are the clear favorite to win their opening round game. They enter the tournament white-hot after sweeping through their conference tournament, scoring 49 runs and giving up just 7 in 5 games. Jack Barry ‘19 has been an offensive juggernaut for the Seagulls, boasting a .423 AVG and dropping a team-leading 8 bombs thus far. Salisbury’s offense is good, but their pitching is what makes them great. The Capital Athletic Conference is a hitter’s conference, nearly every team has averages above .300 and ERAs above 5.00. Salisbury has a conference-best 3.38 ERA, which is really what separates them from the competition. Their staff is spearheaded by Connor Reeves ‘18, who has the most wins in the nation at 13. Reeves also is 9th nationally in ERA at 1.22, 6th in strikeouts with 103 and 1st in innings pitched with 110 ⅔ (the NESCAC leader in IP has 64.1 for reference). If having one clear All-American wasn’t enough for Salisbury, how about two? Austin Heenan ‘18, a DI transfer from Virginia Military Institute, is 10-3 on the season, tied for 2nd most wins in the nation, with a 2.33 ERA. Heenan has racked up 110 strikeouts this season, which is also 2nd best in the nation. If Amherst were to face Salisbury in game 2, which would likely only occur given the Mammoths take game 1, they would have to face Heenan. While Amherst has seen their fair share of quality arms this year, All-American caliber players such as Reeves and Heenan are hard to come by, and even harder to beat.
Most likely, if Amherst loses game 1 they will face St. Joseph’s (L.I.). The Golden Eagles earned their NCAA tournament berth through capturing the Skyline Conference playoff title. Prior to their conference final against Merchant Marine, St. Joseph’s was riding an impressive 11-game win streak. The St. Joe’s lineup is headlined by Paul Britt ‘19, who transferred from host SUNY Cortland after his freshman year. Britt is hitting .406 and leads the team in homeruns (7) and RBI (35). The Golden Eagles have an extremely productive core in their lineup, but are not great top-to-bottom as many teams who fare well nationally are. On the mound, St. Joe’s has had 9 different guys start games for them and are usually quick to pull the trigger and head to the bullpen. Nick Clemente ‘18 has logged the most innings on the staff this year with 54 ⅔, a miniscule number compared to Salisbury’s #1 and #2. The Golden Eagles would be a very even matchup for Amherst, should they square off. Both teams have guys who are excellent individually, but the team as a whole doesn’t stick out in the very talented group in this regional.
Beyond Game 2
If the Mammoths are lucky enough to make it past 2 games, as Tufts was unable to do last year, they could face any combination of the remaining teams in the regional. #9 SUNY Cortland won their first national championship back in 2015 and has competed in 26 straight NCAA tournaments. Baldwin Wallace won the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament and has now made the NCAA tournament in 3 of their last 5 seasons. Swarthmore upset a very talented Johns Hopkins team to win their conference and currently hold a school-best 33 wins on the year. Finally, Westfield State captured the Massachusetts Small College Athletic Conference title to make their first NCAA tournament since 2009.
Overall, the majority of the teams at this regional simply outclass Amherst. The Mammoths could certainly compete against teams like Westfield State, Swarthmore, St Joseph’s and maybe even Baldwin Wallace. When it comes to teams such as Southern Maine, Salisbury and Cortland; Amherst would need to pull off a small miracle to walk away with a victory.
But since they are our only NESCAC team left, we believe in the Mammoths. Did anybody see Davidson College’s remarkable playoff run last year? Crazier things have happened, so keep reading to see how these academic weapons can keep the dream alive:
Amherst’s Strengths, Weaknesses and X-Factor
Strengths:
The boys are hot: Amherst is on a 5-game winning streak that includes 2 crucial wins against Midd to take them to the NESCAC playoffs and then 2 more impressive wins over two-time reigning champs Tufts.
Senior Leadership: The core of the Amherst lineup is Max Steinhorn ‘18, Ariel Kenney ‘18 and Harry Roberson ‘18. These boys have been grinding together for 4 years to reach this point and will not go out without a bang. They set the bar high for their teammates and challenge them to perform to their full potential. Senior leadership is an invaluable asset for any team and Amherst is full of it.
Sam Schneider is ready to go this weekend after back-to-back gems.
Their Bullpen: Similarly, Stephen Burke ‘21 has started his career off hot. In his 13 appearances he is 3-0 with a 2.79 ERA. Zach Brown has also been a major player for Amherst, putting up a 1.76 ERA and 11.74 K/9 in his 9 appearances, despite lots of unearned runs and a lack of control. He can dominate if he locates his curveball, because his heat probably won’t phase these hitters as much as it did earlier this year. Mike Dow has also had a phenomenal statistical season with 7 saves, but has had some wild pitches and hit batters in his last few outings. If he keeps it together emotionally, Amherst will be good to go as his stuff is effective and he generally locates well. When it is time to hand the ball over to the ‘pen, Amherst has some great resources at their disposal which could help them further themselves in the NCAA tournament.
Weaknesses:
Quality of Competition: While it is a great feat in-and-of itself to capture the NESCAC title, the competition Amherst has faced has not prepared them for the level of talent they are about to go up against. No team that Amherst has faced this year is in the top-25, let alone any team that they have beaten. In a regional that has 3 top-25 teams, including 2 in the top-10, Amherst is facing competition unlike any they have seen this year.
Power: Amherst’s 11 home runs ranks last among all the teams at the regional. Alex Marcum ‘18 (Baldwin Wallace), Dudley Taw ‘20 (Baldwin Wallace) and Anthony Crowley ‘19 (Westfield St.) all have more home runs individually than Amherst does as a team. In high-stakes playoff environments such as the NCAA Regionals home runs can be a huge momentum shifter and Amherst simply doesn’t have to pop to produce many of them. Especially against high-quality arms, which they will be facing plenty of, it will be tough to string together hits, so the long ball becomes a much needed tool that Amherst doesn’t have access to.
Experience: Only the Seniors on this Amherst team have had the taste of NCAA playoffs. Amherst made the NCAA Regionals with an at-large bid back in 2015 after losing the NESCAC Championship to Wesleyan. That regional was also hosted by Cortland and the Mammoths went 1-2 in regional play, including a loss to eventual national champion Cortland. Many of the other teams in this regional consistently make the tournament or play in higher quality conferences, no offense NESCAC, that regularly get more than one team into NCAA Regionals. The lack of postseason experience could serve to hurt Amherst as they will be going in a huge underdog compared to many of the programs they will be facing.
X-Factor
Ariel Kenney ‘18:
Ariel Kenney ’18
Kenney started off the season hot and is my pick for West Player of the Year, but as of late he has cooled down significantly. In his last 8 games he is 5 for 29 (.172 AVG) and has had no extra base hits. Kenney has been a key part of the Mammoth lineup all season and if they wanted to outperform their expectations for this regional he’s going to have to break out of this slump and play like he was at the beginning of the season. Now is as tough a time as ever to break out of a slump, as he will be facing the best pitching he has seen all year and possibly in his career, but if he can’t go back to his POY ways, it is more than likely that Amherst will not make it too far in the regional.
Prediction
I believe that Amherst will drop their first game against Southern Maine and the rally to beat St. Joseph’s (L.I.) in their second game. Southern Maine’s pitching is not dominant, so the Mammoths certainly have a chance, however. Amherst’s staff is not deep enough to carry them for more than 2 or 3 games in such a short time-span so it is more than likely that whoever the Mammoths face in game 3, if they are lucky enough to make it that far, will get the better of them. That being said, as representatives of the NESCAC I will be rooting for Amherst to exceed my expectations and help to put NESCAC baseball back on the map. Good luck Mammoths.
Note: For the full regional schedule, please go online and check out Amherst Baseball’s page.
Finally, we’re in the NESCAC playoffs. It’s the usual suspects from the west: Amherst and Wesleyan. Coming out of the east, we have the same teams as the 2017 season. Both Bates and Tufts put up impressive second half records to allow them to make the playoffs. Amherst similarly barely made the tournament, while Wesleyan has limped its way in. All teams have the ability to win the conference—making it a fight to the bitter end. Let’s look at the game one matchups:
Game 1, Wesleyan vs Tufts (Hartford, CT):
This game is a rematch of the 2014 NESCAC final. Tufts comes into the tournament smoking hot. Tufts is one of the best hitting NESCAC teams in the past few years. The ‘Bos are either first or second in all major hitting statistical categories. They lead in HBP (like they do every year) and on base percentage, which shows all nine guys are willing to get on any way possible. They open it up by leading the league in homers and hits. Malcolm Nachmanoff is the run away candidate in the player of the year race with a .432 avg and seven big flies, leading the ‘Bos at the plate. Not far behind him is 10th-year senior Tommy O’Hara, who has been a staple in the Jumbos lineup for quite some time. R.J. Hall will likely be the game one starter. He has logged the most innings, and couples that with a 2.81 ERA. Right behind Hall are Brent Greeley (2.31 ERA) and Spencer Langdon who leads the ‘Bos starters with a 1.66 ERA. Tufts has no glaring weaknesses with a potent lineup, and dominant staff. They might be in trouble if a starter gets knocked out early though as no reliever has below a 4.00 ERA. Tufts isn’t invincible. If teams can get to Tufts’ bullpen, they have a serious chance of winning.
Ryan Earle needs to be a power threat like that of Tufts’ three headed monster in Hartford.
Wesleyan crawls into the playoffs with numerous injuries on the year. The Cards have had their fair share of big wins such as sweeps against Midd and Williams, but disappointments as well. Losing a series against an evenly matched Amherst squad, and losing two games to one against an underachieving Hamilton team are low points. For Wesleyan’s standards, I’m sure that these results are disappointments, but they showed important aspects of the team. Southpaw Kelvin Sosa is on track to win rookie of the year; McCaffrey has the best K/9 in the league. There are certain x-factors in the lineup like Danny Rose who is one of the top hitters in the conference. His short swing coupled with good bat speed allows him to launch baseballs to the right center gap. The biggest x-factor for Wes, I believe, is Tanner Fulkerson. The Colorado native was named NESCAC player of the week with an outstanding performance against Trinity last weekend. Andrew Kauf and Jake Alonzo have provided great gloves and bats for the infield as well. If I were writing a stock report, Wesleyan sophomores would definitely be stock up. People forget that infielder Jonny Corning is out for the year with a shoulder injury (albeit in his non-throwing arm). Fortunately, this talented class has stepped up all season. If all the sophomores perform, Wesleyan’s lineup can almost match Tufts.
Pat Clare and Alec Olmstead are going to have huge roles as the weekend rolls on for Wes.
The bats make the matchup exciting, but expect a 5-4 or 6-3 game. If Sosa goes, and messes up Tufts’ rhythm (shimmy-shimmy), I think the Cards will take it.
Prediction: Wesleyan 5-4
Game 2: Bates vs Amherst (Hartford, CT):
Amherst got into the playoffs by the skin of its teeth. Having to beat a hot Midd team twice in a row on the road is no easy task, but Amherst accomplished it. Amherst is a good team, but they shot themselves in the foot a bit with a poor performance against Hamilton. Like I always say, Amherst will make the plays down the stretch in close games. A guy like Harry Roberson has been through it all at Amherst. He may not carry himself like a physically imposing player, however, his role in Amherst’s record books doesn’t lie. Roberson has picked it up after a slow start to the season. After hitting in the mid-.200’s to begin the year, he has clawed his way up to a .303 average. Although Davis Brown had been their go-to game one starter, Andrew Ferrero has become their top guy, and with a 2.72 ERA, he is depended on to get the outs in critical scenarios. Ariel Kenney and Max Steinhorn are also anchors in the lineup with averages in the high .300’s, pacing the team that leads the league average and hits. Amherst will put up a good fight one through nine and there’s no easy out in that lineup.
Connor Russell needs to be sharp to give Bates a chance.
Let’s stop criticizing Bates. Yes, the team average isn’t good. It’s pretty bad. At .244, the Bobcats are ranked eighth in the league in team average. Even if they can’t hit on paper, they’re good enough to find themselves in the playoffs for the second consecutive year. They’re making the plays when they need to. Nolan Collins has been throwing the ball really well recently and dominated Tufts two weeks ago to clinch their spot in the postseason. The righty leads the starters with a 2.98 ERA while the other starters are merely average. With ERA’s in the 4’s and 5’s for the rest of the staff, Collins will be relied upon to carry the staff the rest of the way. Another key factor to Bates’ recent success is the coaching of Jon Martin. Coming from Vassar to Bates for 2017 season, Martin has brought Bates to the playoffs for two consecutive years. The talent of Bates is average for the NESCAC, but Martin has made the Bobcats a perennial contender. They started off the season slowly, but Martin guided them to a berth, while simultaneously shocking Trinity. Offensively, Justin White has the best average on the team (.381) with very few at bats and Zach Avila has had some big hits, but there aren’t a ton of threats in this lineup. In order to have a shot, the bats are going to need to come alive this weekend.
The game will be low scoring for sure, but I can’t bet against Amherst here.
While the baseball season might be over, the awards season is just beginning. Not to be too self promoting here, but our awards are certainly less biased than the real NESCAC awards and should be taken more seriously. As it goes with the MLB awards, they are based on regular season results, not the postseason, and categorized based on league. Here’s to the best ballplayers in the ‘CAC…
West Player of the Year:
Ariel Kenney had a stand out season to finish off a great career.
OF Ariel Kenney ‘18 (Amherst) Chula Vista, CA: Kenney put a monster season this year en route to Amherst clinching of the #1 seed in the NESCAC West. Coming in at 3rd in the conference with his .383 AVG and 5th with his 4 big flys, Kenney was the heart of an Amherst offense that put up the 2nd most runs in the league. A few of Kenney’s impressive performances this season include a game versus Eastern Connecticut St. in which he went 4-5 with a homerun and a 2-2 stint with 3 RBI and a walk against Williams. Kenney’s 16 extra-base hits were third in the conference, helping boosting him to a .600 SLG%. Amherst will look to ride their MVP all the way to a NESCAC ‘ship, starting with Bates in NESCAC playoffs this weekend.
East Player of the Year AND Combat Silver Slugger POY:
Stony Brook transfer, Malcolm Nachmanoff, had by far the best season of any NESCAC player.
OF Malcolm Nachmanoff ‘18 (Tufts) Boston, MA: Another year, another Jumbo winning Player of the Year. That being said, there is absolutely no doubt that Nachmanoff deserves to take home the hardware after an incredible, breakout Senior spring. Nachmanoff lead the conference in Batting Average (.432), Homeruns (7), Slugging (.775), Doubles (15), Total Bases (86) and Extra-Base Hits (23). He was the NESCAC leader in 6 categories which is nothing less than absolute dominance. Nachmanoff transferred to Tufts after his sophomore season at D1 Stony Brook and proceeded to have a fairly rough Junior year for the Jumbos in which he only hit .182. He was able to find that D1 talent this season and prove that he is not just one, but several steps above the rest of the competition. Nachmanoff’s next challenge is to lead the Jumbos to his second ‘ship in 2 years and their first challenge will be the Wesleyan Cardinals.
West Cy Young:
P Colby Morris ‘19 (Middlebury) Ross, CA: Yes folks, the time has come. NBN is going to give our editor the credit he deserves. As much as we all love to make fun of Colby, his numbers are far too good to ignore. Morris was absolutely lights out all year long, leading the conference in Complete Games (4), Wins (5), Innings (63 ⅓) and Strikeouts (52). Along with all those feats, Morris was second in the conference with a jaw-dropping 1.71 ERA. Though, what made Morris’ effort so special this season is the way that he turned it on during conference play. In-conference he was 3-1, including 3 complete games, with 23 Ks and an ERA of 0.93. Despite the fact that Midd will be missing out on the playoffs this year after a tough series loss against Amherst, Morris did absolutely everything in his power to give them the opportunity to get there. Midd’s youthful core this season and Morris’ dominance should translate to a very exciting 2019 in Vermont.
East Cy Young:
RJ Hall has been there and done that in his three years at Tufts and is a tough matchup for any team in the playoffs.
P R.J. Hall ‘19 (Tufts) Marietta, GA: The East Cy Young was a particularly difficult award to pick because there were many good candidates, and almost all of them play for Tufts. Hall takes the cake because he proved himself to be the Jumbo’s most relied upon arm and ace throughout the season. Hall has a solid 5-2 record on the year, contributing immensely to Tufts’ 1st place finish in the East. His 47 strikeouts were far and away the most of anyone on the Jumbo’s staff and was 4th in the NESCAC. Hall notched 3 key conference wins over all 3 Maine schools (Colby, Bowdoin and Bates), including a complete game shutout against Bowdoin. Hall is the face of a three-headed monster for Tufts which will look to continue their success all the way to a three-peat of the NESCAC championship this weekend.
Reliever of the Year:
P Jake Shapiro ‘18 (Bates) Sandy, UT: It seemed as if every time Shapiro entered the game for the Bobcats, it was over. In his 14 appearances this season Shapiro maintained a .98 ERA and amassed 6 saves which were 2nd best in the ‘CAC. 5 of Shapiro’s 6 saves came in conference games, tied for the most of any pitcher this season. The reason behind Shapiro’s success was his ability to put hitters away via the strikeout. Shapiro has been punching out batters left and right and it shows in his 12.27 K/9. #2 Bates will face #1 Amherst this Friday in the first round of the NESCAC playoffs and you can be sure that if they have a lead Shapiro will be there man to finish it off.
Breakout Player of the Year:
P Spencer Langdon ‘20 (Tufts) Westlake, TX: After not seeing a single inning of work his Freshman year, Tufts hurler Spencer Langdon broke onto the scene in the NESCAC this year. He lead the NESCAC in ERA with a staggering 1.66 and holds a perfect 4-0 record heading into the playoffs. The majority of Langdon’s success came in NESCAC play in which he went 3-0 and had an even better ERA of 1.35. The Jumbos managed to win every single game that Langdon started this season, helping them to another first place finish in the NESCAC East. Tufts gave Langdon his first career start in their opening series against Trinity, after his impressive preseason relief stints, and never looked back. Langdon cemented his place as the best #3 starter in the conference this season and certainly as a candidate for POY. Tufts will use their hidden gem this weekend in NESCAC playoffs where Langdon will look to go 2/2 on NESCAC ‘ships.
Rookie of the Year:
P Kelvin Sosa ‘21 (Wesleyan) Bronx, NY: Amongst a 2021 class that was full of talent, Sosa proved to be the best. Earning himself the 2-spot in the rotation in just his first season, Sosa took full advantage of the opportunity he was given. His 2.54 ERA was the 5th best in the NESCAC and his 49 Ks were 3rd best. Some of his highlights this season include 6 ⅔ scoreless innings against Midd where he racked up 11 Ks and a 9 inning, complete game shutout against Williams that notched him 7 Ks. Sosa was a key piece in Wesleyan’s playoff run and will be getting his first taste of NESCAC playoffs this year. While Wesleyan’s next test is #1 seed in the East, Tufts, it is almost certain that Sosa will get the ball in game 2 of the playoffs.
2018 NESCAC 1st Team (Does not include award winners above)
C Chase Pratt ‘20 (Wesleyan) Rye, NY
IF Matt Koperniak ‘20 (Trinity) Adams, MA
IF Max Steinhorn ‘18 (Amherst) Washington, DC
IF Tommy O’Hara ‘18 (Tufts) Glenview, IL
IF Matt Zaffino ‘21 (Hamilton) New Canaan, CT
IF Justin Han ‘20 (Middlebury) Vienna, VA
OF Matt Treveloni ‘18 (Colby) Ashland, MA
OF Alex Capitelli ‘20 (Wesleyan) North Caldwell, NJ
With three out of four playoff spots secured, we wait on the Amherst vs Middlebury series to determine the 2018 NESCAC tournament schedule. Both teams were in two very different spots midseason. Midd was underachieving with a weak looking rotation after its ace. The once potent lineup from 2017 was easily contained. Amherst, in contrast, was firing on all cylinders. Clutch offense, defense, and pitching guided Amherst to a conference victory against Little Three rival, Wesleyan. However, these past few weekends haven’t treated Amherst kindly. With Wes clinching a playoff spot, and Midd rising, Amherst needed to perform in these last few games. Losing to Hamilton in a rescheduled game Thursday night didn’t help. As a result, the winner of this series will determine who’s in and who’s out.
Including non-conference games, Midd has won nine in a row. That statistic is absurd considering the entropy of baseball. Midd accomplished what neither Wes nor Amherst could do: sweeping Hamilton. Colby Morris, biggest glow up in the ‘Cac and my editor, leads the Midd staff with a 1.92 ERA. In my opinion, he’s the best pitcher in the league. Going back to my piece a few weeks back that interviewed each pitcher, I asked each of them what they do when they’re not getting any run support. To say that Morris wasn’t getting much run support early on is an understatement. However, like the GOAT of all GOATs says, ‘Do your job.’ Morris was able to keep sharp focus on his task at hand: throwing strikes, getting ground balls, and making outs. In a comparison with another ace in the league, Mike McCaffrey, Morris has logged around ten more innings pitched, while compiling less strikeouts than McCaffrey. Even though strikeouts are the tantalizing statistic among fans, Morris’ pitch count per inning has to be lower than McCaffrey because he’s not always looking for the spot on a back door breaking ball, but shooting the knees to induce a ground ball or double play. Midd’s bats have come alive as well. Freshman standouts from last year, Justin Han and Brooks Carroll, and have picked up the production at the plate with avg’s all over .300– above .350 for Carroll and Han. Hayden Smith has emerged as a stud at 3B for the Panthers too. Amherst should fear what would happen if Midd takes game one. Even though I believe that Amherst is a better all-around team, beating Morris isn’t an easy task for any ball club. That scenario would put Midd in the driver’s seat to take either game two or game three to clinch its second consecutive playoff berth.
Morris and Ferrero are going to duel it out tomorrow in game 1.
Amherst has had a roller coaster season with big wins against Wesleyan, but critical losses to Hamilton. Its road record of 4-4 in overall play in contrast with a 12-2 home record doesn’t exactly give Amherst fans confidence traveling to face a hot Midd team on their diamond. The old saying goes, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Amherst has been a force in the conference for years and years. While the faces of Yanni Thanopoulos, Andrew Vandini, Mike Odenwaelder, and Drew Fischer are gone, names such as Harry Roberson and Max Steinhorn remain. Most importantly, Brian Hamm, a Middlebury alum, will continually put together a quality team year in and year out. That’s why I’m not overly concerned about Amherst this weekend. Yes, they’ve put themselves in a tough position by needing to win two out of three against a hot team. Like I’ve said in all my articles, there are teams that always come through in the clutch. Amherst is one of those teams. The Patriots were down by twenty-five midway through the third about Super Bowl LI. At the end of the day, the Patriots are the Patriots and the Falcons are the Falcons. The Falcons were destined to blow it. Amherst has nine guys that are hitting over .300 in overall play. Even though none of them are really the standout hitters that Tufts has, they all compete and grind out quality at bats at an extraordinary level. Even though Morris is better than Ferrero, I give Amherst the edge in overall pitching.
Harry Roberson just became Amherst’s all time hits leader, coming in hot after a slow start to the season.
Given that we had two articles on this pivotal series, we have two different projections from the recent authors. If these tell you anything, it’s that this series is a must watch:
Andrew’s Prediction: Amherst 2 games, Middlebury 1 game
Why he chose them: This series is going to be tight. Obviously, both teams are high level ball clubs who are built to compete on this stage. I believe that both teams will take a game, but in the end, you have to go with the team that’s done it consistently before, and is acclimated with the spotlight and pressure that comes with big games.
Spencer’s Prediction: Middlebury 2 games, Amherst 1 game
Why he chose them: Midd will be able to complete their improbable comeback and return to the playoffs hungry for another shot at a NESCAC ‘ship. With their home crowd and hot streak, they should be bringing it all weekend. Whatever happens, there’s no doubt that this will be the series of the year.
While everybody is looking towards the playoffs, there is still one series and one playoff spot on the line. Middlebury and Amherst are playing for their playoff lives with everything on the line this weekend. Read more to find out what you need to know before Saturday’s doubleheader:
Location: Forbes Field – Middlebury, VT
While Middlebury has only played 5 of their 28 games at home this season, they’ve certainly had success when playing on their own diamond. On the season Midd sits at 4-1 in all home contests, thanks to their current 4 game win streak at home. On the other side of the equation, Amherst has only had 7 away games this year and they are 4-3 in those contests, most notably beating Wesleyan 2 games out of 3 on the road. Overall I’d give the Panthers a slight advantage being on their home turf, but Amherst has clearly shown that they can get it done on the road, so home field advantage will not be enough to take them down.
Probable Starters:
Game 1: Colby Morris ‘19 (Middlebury) 4-4, 1.92 ERA vs Andrew Ferrero ‘19 (Amherst) 3-1, 2.19 ERA
Colby Morris ’19Andrew Ferrero ’19
Game 2: Robert Erickson ‘18 (Middlebury) 3-2, 3.19 ERA vs Sam Schneider ‘18 (Amherst) 3-2, 3.22 ERA
Rob Erickson ’18Sam Schneider ’18
Game 3: George Goldstein ‘21 (Middlebury) 2-0, 1.02 ERA vs Davis Brown ‘19 (Amherst) 5-2, 3.80 ERA
George Goldstein ’21Davis Brown ’19
Game 1 of this series features two of the top pitchers in the conference this year in Morris and Ferrero. Both are Juniors, Bay Area natives (despite the fact that Morris lists himself as from Del Mar, which is fake news) (Editor’s Note: It is not fake news) and are enjoying the best years of their careers thus far. Game 1 should be a tight, low-scoring contest and will come down to which one of these aces can go the distance for their team. I would give Morris the advantage over Ferrero because he has been able to go CG in 2 of his 3 NESCAC games so far and has maintained a stellar 1.23 ERA in conference this year. Before Amherst’s loss against Hamilton I would have said that the game two matchup should be very close as well. But after giving up 6 earned in 3+ innings Davis Brown will likely have his start pushed to Sunday. That leaves the task up to Sam Schneider ’18 who will be making his last NESCAC start. Schneider got bounced after one inning against Hamilton and put up quality starts in his other two outings and is by no means a lock for success. On the other hand, Erickson has been able to hold all NESCAC West opponents to 3 runs or less per start so far this year. If both teams maintain their same rotation as last week then game 2 should be lopsidedly in favor of Middlebury. Game 3 looks to be an absolute wildcard as it pits Freshman George Goldstein, who only has one career start, against either Brown or an Amherst bullpen arm. Goldstein’s only career start came last week against Hamilton where he was able to go 5 strong, scoreless innings to get the final win of the series sweep for the Panthers. Despite Goldstein’s stellar numbers, because he didn’t go more than five innings in his start, he leaves a lot up to the Middlebury bullpen. This
Key Players:
Middlebury
Hayden Smith ‘20: .382/.452/.461, 21 RBI, 6 XBH
Justin Han ‘20: .367/.528/.456, 18 RBI, 27 BB, 20SB
Max Steinhorn ‘18: .391/.458/.461, 16 RBI, 6 XBH, 14 SB
Harry Roberson ‘18: .316/.421/.429, 11 2B, 24 RBI, 16 BB
Numbers-wise, Amherst’s offense is clearly superior to Midd’s. Lead by a trio of Seniors, Amherst currently has the best team batting average in the conference at .304 while Midd sits in 6th at .267. One thing that both of these teams do especially well is run the bases. Midd leads the conference by a significant margin with their 72 bags swiped while Amherst is 3rd with their 53 stolen bases. Interestingly, when it comes to away games for the Mammoths, their team average is less than 10 points lower than it is for home games, showing that they are not intimidated on the road. Luckily for Middlebury, their team average goes up nearly 80 points when they are on their home field, which may provide some of the offense that Midd has seemed to be lacking all season. Overall, I think that Amherst has a clear offensive advantage over Middlebury and Midd will need to use the leverage of their home field advantage, as well as their current 9 game win streak, in their favor in order to be able to match the Mammoth’s outstanding plate presence.
Midd has something going right now after two straight sweeps. Photo courtesy of David Goldstein.
Series History (Since 2007)
Overall:
Amherst: 25-9
Middlebury 9-25
Home:
Amherst: 11-4
Middlebury: 5-10
Away:
Amherst: 10-5
Middlebury 4-11
Neutral:
Amherst: 4-0
Middlebury 0-4
It’s fairly clear to see that over the past decade or so Amherst has dominated their matchup against Midd. Both the home and away numbers are very similar for both teams, showing that home field advantage has not played all too much of a role in their past meetings. Although last year Midd was able to take 2 of 3 games from the Mammoths in Massachusetts and Middlebury made a much further playoff run than Amherst, so perhaps we are seeing a cultural shift happening in Vermont that is trending in the right direction. Despite the fact that history would choose Amherst over Midd by a long shot, with the recent momentum Midd has gained as well as their success last season against Amherst, this series will certainly be much tighter than it has been in years past.
What’s on the Line (Playoff Scenarios)
Amherst: After a devastating loss to Hamilton on Thursday, the Mammoths now need to get a series win on the road in order to secure their playoff spot. Anything less than 2 wins would have Amherst go from the #1 seed to a team that will miss the playoffs entirely. If the Mammoths are able to take 2 games from Midd they will salvage their playoff spot and retain their status as the #1 seed.
Middlebury: Hamilton’s win over Amherst was a godsend for the Panthers as Midd’s comeback from last in the division is nearly complete. All Middlebury needs now is a series win at home to come all the way back from their rocky start. 2 wins or more will see Middlebury make the playoffs as the #2 seed, something that seemed unfathomable just weeks ago.
We have officially reached the homestretch in the NESCAC this season. It was chaotic for the last few weekends, but we finally have some clarity in the playoff picture. While it looked unlikely for large stretches of the season, Tufts ended up where everyone expected them to, at the top of the East Division, while Amherst (pending a 2011 Red Sox-esque collapse against Middlebury) and Wesleyan appear set to cruise in to the postseason as representatives in the West. And lastly, in a crazy wire-to-wire finish, Bates emerged atop the three-way tie for 2nd in the East over fellow 7-5 teams Bowdoin and Trinity. While this is great for the Bobcats, it shows a monumental collapse from the Bantams who needed just one win in a three game set against Bates to clinch the #1 seed in the east, now finding themselves out of the playoff picture. With the NESCAC tournament a few short weeks away, who is heading in in the best shape?
Stock Up
Nolan Collins’ Clutch Gene
With Bates needing to take just one game to make the playoffs, you would think it was going to be smooth sailing in Lewiston this past weekend. The only problem was that Bates needed to take just one game from the hottest (and best) team in the league, the Tufts Jumbos. Coming off of a trouncing of Colby, Tufts’ bats were white hot, and Bates’ plan of attack surely was not to win a shootout against an offense with double their runs scored on the year. Sending their ace LHP Connor Russell ’19 to the mound on Friday was going to be their best chance of winning a game, especially considering that Tufts’ deep pitching staff would have the advantage on the weekend. But Tufts #1 RHP RJ Hall ’19 picked the worst possible time for the Bobcats to decide to turn in arguably his best performance of the year, in the form of a 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 13 K performance that earned him NESCAC Pitcher of the Week. Hall, who did not allow a hit after the 2nd inning, was simply lights out in a 5-0 win. Bates was all of a sudden facing the prospect of needing to steal a win of either Brent Greeley ’20 and his Top 5 ERA (2.31) in Game 2 or Spencer Langdon and his league leading ERA of 1.66. But up stepped RHP Nolan Collins ’20, who in the biggest game in recent memory for Bates, pitched a complete game of 7 scoreless innings, striking out 8 against the most potent lineup in the league to clinch a postseason berth for the Bobcats.
Collins knows that things are going well right now for the Bobcats…
Middlebury’s Playoff Chances
While it’s still looking slimmer than slim for the Panthers, their three-game sweep over Hamilton certainly helped. It was the arms that got it done this past weekend, as Hamilton was held to three runs each in all three games. RHP Colby Morris ’19 continues to do everything he can to extend their season, turning in a 9 IP CG, allowing just one earned run and striking out 6, bringing his ERA down to 1.92, second in the league. Midd has one series remaining on their divisional series, against 6-2 Amherst, who have a makeup game against Hamilton before then. A win in that game would mean the Mammoths only need to avoid a series sweep rather than avoid a series loss against Middlebury to make the playoffs, but nothing has been clinched yet. While it is certainly an uphill battle, the Panthers are winners of 9 in a row, the longest active streak in the NESCAC. Don’t count them out.
Andrew Hennings and the Panthers are playing for their playoff lives this weekend. Does anybody else feel the magic?
Wesleyan
Nothing too fancy about this one, but their sweep of rivals Williams has clinched a playoff berth for Wesleyan. It was hard to believe that they were fighting for their playoff lives in the last weekend of their divisional slate, but they were. The Cardinals, who started off hot with a sweep of last season’s NESCAC finalists Middlebury, have managed to fly under people’s radars the rest of the way despite finishing at 8-4. They haven’t put up any eye-popping numbers along the way, but they certainly have what it takes to win the league. LHP Mike McCaffrey ’19 (2-3, 4.63 ERA) hasn’t had the dominant year that many of us thought he would, but his league leading 10.28 K/9 is all the proof you need that he has the stuff to shut down any lineup on any given day. In fact, the Wesleyan rotation of McCaffrey, Sosa, and Olmstead, are 1-2-3 in that category, the only three pitchers with a K/9 over 9. Their only problem is McCaffrey and Olmstead are also tied for the league lead in walks with 36. If they can locate their pitchers, and maybe catch some help from Middlebury to knock Amherst to the 2 seed in the West, thus avoiding Tufts in the opener, Wesleyan could be in great shape.
Stock Down
The POY Race
When you have a guy leading the league in hitting at .432, tied for 3rd in RBI with 35, and also leading the league in home runs with 7, like Tufts senior OF Malcolm Nachmanoff is, it’s pretty tough to argue for anybody else as a legitimate Player of the Year candidate. The Stony Brook transfer has absolutely mashed all year for Tufts, in a year where it was thought that the duo of Tommy O’Hara and Nick Falkson would be the top 2 candidates for the award, with Falkson looking to repeat. While the three of them are arguably the top 3 hitters in the league right now, as they own the top 3 spots on the HR and RBI charts, it is impossible to discount the timeliness of Nachmanoff’s streak, a midseason surge that injected life into a Jumbos lineup that didn’t get off to the start that many expected it to, while Falkson was struggling to hit for average as well. NESCAC awards tend to go to the best player on the best team, so while the stat sheet stuffing is great, look no further than this past basketball’s season, where Williams’ James Heskett stole the POY from Middlebury’s Jack Daly, who had put up ridiculous numbers all year but lost in the NESCAC quarterfinals, on the back of the Ephs’ surge to the NESCAC championship. But Nachmanoff has been so good that I don’t even know how you could give it someone else regardless of who wins the league.
